New strains of Bradyrhizobium enrich plant biomass nitrogen content in Crotalaria for use as a green manure

ABSTRACT In spite of the chemical, physical, and biological benefits that Crotalaria spectabilis can provide to the soil, it is little used as a green manure crop by farmers. Inoculation with strains of legume-nodulating nitrogen-fixing bacteria that are efficient and competitive may be a strategy to enhance accumulation of N in C. spectabilis and stimulate adoption of this green manure crop. The aims of this study were i) to evaluate the symbiotic and agronomic efficiency of new strains of Bradyrhizobium on C. spectabilis in an oxisol (red latosol) compared to that of noninoculated controls (without and with mineral N) and with the approved strain BR2811, seeking to corroborate possible recommendation as inoculants for this species; and ii) to determine, the contribution of these treatments to N accumulation in the plant of C. spectabilis in four periods of cutting for determining possible and ideal periods for its incorporation in the soil. Experiments were carried out in pots and field. Inoculation with the new strains UFLA05-03, UFLA05-09, and UFLA05-14 and with BR2811 on C. spectabilis is effective since it increases the production of N-enriched plant biomass when compared to the control without N mineral. However, UFLA05-03 stands out among these strains because it behaves similarly to the control with mineral N both in relation to shoot N accumulation and dry matter just after 150 days in the field.